WAVERLY, Iowa  – The Luther College womens' basketball team did not have an easy task ahead of it Thursday night. After a clutch 70-64 win over Coe in the opening round of the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Tournament, the Norse were tasked with defeating the No. 1 seed, Wartburg College, in order to advance to Saturday's championship. Early on, Luther felt the playoff magic, outplaying the #24 ranked Knights for the majority of the first half. However, Wartburg proved too powerful for the Norse, as Luther fell by a final score of 75-55. With the loss, the Norse close the season with an overall record of 14-13 with an 8-8 mark in A-R-C play. 

BY THE NUMBERS
Luther was off to the races to open the first quarter, as the Norse jumped out to a 7-2 lead over their hosts in the opening five minutes of play. After surrendering the initial basket, Luther held Wartburg scoreless for 4:33 seconds, using a 7-0 run to jump out to a five point advantage. However, the Norse ran into foul trouble in the closing minutes of the first quarter, as Jordan Rubie (Winona, Minn. / Cotter), Kailey Jones (Avoca, Iowa / AHSTW) and Chelin Isaacson (Superior, Colo. / Monarch) were all called for fouls in a two minute span. Still, Luther controlled the pace of play for most of the first half and clung to a 16-14 lead entering the second quarter. 

The Knights eventually caught the Norse early in the second quarter, surging to a 22-18 lead on a 5-2 run. However, Luther hung with #24 Wartburg, using back-to-back buckets from Jones and a layup by Lizzie Kauls (North Oaks, Minn. / Mounds View) to regain a 23-22 advantage. Megan Miller (Urbandale, Iowa / Des Moines Christian) got in on the scoring as well, propelling her team to a 25-22 lead with just over six minutes remaining in the half. By the five minute mark, though, the game was all tied up at 25-25, and the Knights used a 12-0 run late in the quarter to hold a 37-27 halftime lead over the Norse. 

Luther fought through the third and fourth quarter, but the Norse were never able to make up the 10 point deficit. Although Luther shot .500 from the floor in the third quarter, Wartburg shot .533 and used a handful of runs to extend its lead to 58-41. The lead only grew in the fourth, as the Knights proved to be too much for the Norse. Despite a valiant battle, Luther fell in the end by a final score of 75-55. 

TOP NORSE 

• Kailey Jones (Avoca, Iowa / AHSTW) led Luther in scoring in the final game of 2022-23. The sophomore scored a team-leading 17 points, accompanied by six rebounds, one steal and one block.
• Megan Miller (Urbandale, Iowa / Des Moines Christian) added 15 points on 6-10 shooting with six rebounds, six assists and three blocks. 

UP NEXT
Luther's season comes to an end in the A-R-C Tournament Semifinals, as the Norse advanced to the round for the ninth consecutive season with their win over Coe on Tuesday. Luther will close the season above .500 with an overall record of 14-13.